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Central Valley resident Emily Wang earned second place honors after competing in the MTNA Eastern Division Competition at the West Virginia University School of Music in Morgantown, West Virginia, earlier this month.

CENTRAL VALLEY — Central Valley resident Emily Wang, a Monroe-Woodbury High School freshman, earned second place honors at the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Eastern Division Competition, held Jan. 7 and 8 at the West Virginia University School of Music in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Wang, a pianist, earned the right to compete after being named the New York State winner/representative in the MTNA junior level last fall, allowing her to move on to Eastern Division Competition. The division consists of 12 states, with one representative from each state competition.

Wang, a student of Stella Xu, prepared and presented a 20-minute repertoire consisting of three diverse music pieces.

"I’d like to acknowledge my piano teacher Stella Xu for all her hard work in helping me get this far," said Wang. "As a resident of Orange County, I feel honored to have won this achievement."

Wang is the recipient of numerous awards, including: three, first place awards at the New Jersey Music Teachers Association (NJMTA) competitions; four, first place awards at the Music Educators Association of New Jersey competitions; three, first place awards at the Cecilian Young Artist Competition; eight, first awards at the Crescendo International Music Competition; and first place at last year's Vivo International Piano Competition.

She also recently earned second place honors in the 2017-2018 Monroe-Woodbury PTA Reflections Competition in the high school division for music composition.

The MTNA National Student Competitions are the most successful and prestigious student competitions in the country, according to its website. Each year, thousands of students compete for top prizes and national recognition.

The three-tiered competitions begin at the state round. First-place winner of the each state's competition advance to a division competition. Division winners compete in the national finals at the annual MTNA National Conference.